Here's How They Made The NBA Championship Rings That Cost Mark Cuban $1.4 Million

The Dallas Mavericks won’t defend their NBA title in 2012, but at least Dirk Nowitzki and his team will always have some of the nicest championship rings ever made.Owner Mark Cuban paid $1.4 million total for the Mavericks’ rings, which are packed with diamonds from top to bottom.

The Mavericks released an awesome behind-the-scenes video today detailing exactly how each ring was made

We’ll take you through the technical process step-by-step.

First the ring makers, Jostens, met with Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki to discuss what the rings should look like.

Kidd and the team wanted an elaborate 31-diamond ring around the Mavericks logo, to commemorate the team's 31 years in the NBA.

The Mavericks logo was to be front and centre, but to make it stand out, Jostens cut the logo into six pieces and placed over a blue corundum stone.

This makes the Mavericks blue stand out beautifully.

On the other side of the ring is the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

To make the rings, first Jostens had to cut the die.

Here is the die for Jason Kidd's ring.

The die is then injected with wax to make a replica of the ring.

The size of each wax ring is then adjusted to fit each player's hand.

The wax rings are then covered in plaster and put into a kiln to bake overnight at 1350 degrees. The wax evaporates and creates a cavity.

The next day, gold pellets are melted in a crucible.

The temperature necessary is just under 2000 degrees.

The gold is then poured into the plaster cast.

The plaster is then washed away, leaving a gold ring. Here is Dirk Nowitzki's ring before it is polished.